Which is Better: the 1984 Dune or the 2021 Dune? I finally saw the cult classic 1984 Dune and the huge Dune film released in 2021. Mixed feelings about both films are the best initial way to describe it. So which is better: the 1984 Dune or the 2021 Dune?
Commercially Viable or More Creative?
I will argue one of these films is more commercially viable and one is more creative. But that doesn’t mean one is better than the other. Commercially viable and more creative are not two things that are mutually exclusive all the time. But sometimes they are.
Dune 1984 had a love of creative flair especially when you understand what technology they had available for special effects. While the 2021 version had star power, so did the 1984 Dune. The 1984 Dune had Sting and Patrick Stewart, Brad Dourif ( the Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers), Max Von Sydow (Such an underrated actor), Dean Stockwell.
The 2021 Dune had arguably more, Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac (Disney Star Wars), Jason Momoa, Zendaya, Stellan Skarsgard. And they spent more money in 2021.
The budget of Dune 1984 Vs Dune 2021.
The 1984 Dune movie had a budget of 40 million dollars, the largest movie budget of its time! While Dune 2021 had a budget of 165 million! (Not including Marketing and promotion.)
My initial thoughts on Dune.
For whatever reason, I slept on Dune. I did not watch the 1984 release of the movie. Even though I had heard of it. I had always been a Star Wars and Star Trek fan but Dune did not catch my interest initially. But when the 2021 movie came out I had to watch it.
Dune 2021 and The Hobbit.
What I mean is my initial impression of the Dune 2021 release was that they had stretched out the movie as Hollywood had done to The Hobbit Trilogy. Although I liked the special effects and the world they had created it felt like a long build-up or introduction.
Most cheesy line in Dune 2021:
This is only the beginning…
Chani
My first thought was: could we have gotten here sooner – since this is only the beginning? And my second thought was: Hollywood has no original ideas and has to redo every movie series in existence.
Dune 1984 and Clockwork Orange.
But then I watched the weirdest movie ever Dune the 1984 release, Directed by David Lynch. This movie starts interesting enough but then moves so rapidly, like an acid trip, except I’m having it. The movie crams so many things in, without properly explaining it that it’s pretty clear it should have been a four-hour movie or two movies. Instead, it is a series of montages that feel like acid trips.
Dune 1984 has been dubbed by some as the worst movie ever.
I do not believe that statement is true, Dune 1984 is not the worst movie ever. You haven’t seen Disney’s Eternals or The Matrix Resurrections, or you wouldn’t even make that claim. Instead what this movie is, is one of the strangest movies of all time. What I mean is it is Ed Wood-level weirdness but with a huge budget.
Over-the-top acting.
Crazy acting like that of Sting playing Feyd-Rautha, Harkonnen. His appearances are cartoon-ish so was the acting of Kenneth Mcmillan playing Baron Harkonnen. In Dune 1984 Baron Harkonnen would go into crazy fits of maniacal laughter while floating around the room. His grotesque appearance was equally matched by the weird things he did. For instance, when Thufir Hawat a Mentat and Master of Assassins of House Atreides is captured after its fall, he is tortured, given poison and is ordered to milk a caged, mutant cat once a day for so that it will emit the antidote to him through a tube to survive.
Milk a Cat!
Too weird to be forgotten.
History will decide later if Dune 2021 will be a classic Science Fiction Movie Saga, but Dune 1984 is never going away. Dune 1984 is like a train wreck that you can’t turn away from. I do not fault the actors, I am sure they did what was expected of them. But with all the inner dialogue and crazy scenes that this movie was packed with. Nothing was properly explained but instead, thrust upon the viewers with montages.
Father! The sleeper has awakened!
Paul Usul Muad’Dib Atreides
In Conclusion, Which is Better Dune 1984 or the 2021 Dune?
Honestly after giving it my full consideration the question is like comparing apples to oranges. Dune 1984 is a cult classic, heralded a box office failure. Dune 2021 was commercially successful, and it is an okay movie. Will the Dune 2021 version stand the test of time? Cinematically they did a far better job putting the story together and developing the characters.
Dune 2021 did what had to be done, they broke the story up explaining the characters and the conflict in a way that built up the story. Dune 1984 was just accidentally the weirdest science fiction movie ever made.
Commercially viable Dune 2021 is better. Unmistakingly memorable is Dune, the 1984 release. In 1984 they could never do with special effects and CGI what can be done now. They created amazing sets and created a unique world for that time. Expectedly, in 2021 every science fiction movie has great CGI and action scenes.
Which do you prefer?
Loved the books, so I was very anxious in 1984 to see the first movie. The highlight was Helen Hunt as Mapes. I found the Harkonnen family ludicrous and embarrassing. I’m a big fan of CGI, so from that point of view alone, I judge the 2021 version the better of the two.
That said, there is another version that I consider closer to the book and the best of the three film productions, and that is the SciFi channel’s 3 part miniseries of 2000, Frank Herbert’s Dune. The effects were much better than 1984, and the acting was more natural and believable than either of the other two. If you haven’t seen it, it’s probably on DVD, and gets my recommendation.
Thanks for that insight I will have to check out the miniseries! thank you Cher!
I couldn’t agree more: nothing will ever replace the SciFi channel miniseries for me. It’s still one of my favourite adaptations of all time. If we compare it to great literary translations, it seeks to capture the essence of the story, rather than providing a word-by-word—or scene-by-scene—reproduction. The feeling you get while watching it speaks louder than the effects, the dialogue or even the acting alone does. As I understand, that’s what Denis Villeneuve was trying to accomplish with his film. You’re supposed to feel like you’re on Arrakis. You’re supposed to feel the impossibility of life on the dunes, of impending war, of alien mysticism and rebellion. And I think he manages it, much like the miniseries so masterfully did.
Haven’t seen either the 2021 movie or the mini-series. Would like to see the mini-series more than the new movie, but hopefully will get to both at some point. You’re absolutely correct in your comments on the 1984 movie. I remember leaving the theater and thinking, WTF?!? was that?
Given that the 2021 movie is only half of the story, I reserve judgement on which is better. I do think that the new one is more faithful to the spirit of the book so far.
A wise statement.